Bel Air man held on $100,000 bail in alleged knife assault

KAYLA BAWROSKI, kabawroski@theaegis.com

A Bel Air man, who is a retired Army veteran, was being held on $100,000 bail Tuesday after allegedly threatening his wife with a knife.

David Leon Young, 59, of the 2100 block of Kalmia Road, is charged with first- and second-degree assault and appeared before District Court Judge Victor Butanis for a bail review hearing. He was initially held on $25,000, but at the hearing, Butanis increased the bail amount.

Assistant State's Attorney Chris Smith requested an increase in Young's bail, citing the statement of charges from the incident Monday. Young had been drinking with a neighbor, came home and started to get something in the refrigerator with dirty hands, which sparked a fight with his wife, Smith said.

He started by calling his wife names and then allegedly got a knife and said he would "fix" her, according to Smith. At one point, he also allegedly said he would cut her neck off, Smith said. Young's wife then ran into the bathroom, where Young allegedly chased her and began stabbing at the door.

Young's public defender, Lynne McChrystal ,asked for the original bail to be reduced or for Young to be released from the Harford County Detention Center. He is retired Army and has lived most his life in Maryland and eight years in Harford County, she said.

Young was also injured in Vietnam, has congestive heart failure and suffers from a lung problem related to exposure to Agent Orange – the controversial chemical defoliant widely used in Vietnam that has been linked to a variety of health problems and to birth defects, McChrystal added.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Young remained jailed at the county detention center.